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Track Listing

1. According To His Word
2. Counting On God
3. Impossible Possible
4. It Was For Freedom
5. Medley: Just Give Me Jesus/'tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
6. Light Of Salvation
7. Magnified
8. Never Be Shaken
9. Strong God
10. Victorious God
11. We Belong To Jesus

Shout Praises Kids - We Belong To Jesus

Review

'We Belong to Jesus' is the latest in the Shout Praises Kids series. This series has been taking songs sung in churches around the world and attempting to bring them to the next generation for a number of years. And with the series having sold over 1 million albums so far, you could say it is working! In 2013, Shout Praises Kids teamed up with Planetshakers Kids to release ‘Nothing is Impossible’, and this year they team with New Life Worship to bring us ‘We Belong to Jesus’.

The style that Shout Praises Kids take (in a Tom Hind nutshell) is...Read More'We Belong to Jesus' is the latest in the Shout Praises Kids series. This series has been taking songs sung in churches around the world and attempting to bring them to the next generation for a number of years. And with the series having sold over 1 million albums so far, you could say it is working! In 2013, Shout Praises Kids teamed up with Planetshakers Kids to release ‘Nothing is Impossible’, and this year they team with New Life Worship to bring us ‘We Belong to Jesus’.

The style that Shout Praises Kids take (in a Tom Hind nutshell) is ‘if a song is working for grown ups, add some synths, a solid drum beat, some children singing and kids will love it’! On the whole, this does actually seem to work, and the 11 songs from New Life Worship’s songbook that have been reinvigorated and refocused for a younger generation do seem to come out fairly well.

Some highlights on the album are ‘Counting on God’, the opening track, which manages to find the right balance of energy and powerful lyrics, remaining catchy and simple enough for children to fully understand. “I never have to worry what tomorrow brings / My faith is on Solid Rock, I’m counting on God”. ‘We Belong’ has a brilliant, poppy chorus that isn’t afraid to stay relaxed and hold back the instrumentation, and it is better for it. I can imagine using this in different settings with the kids in my church.

‘Strong God’, which is already an anthem in many churches around the globe, works brilliantly here on this album and it is really easy to enter into worship through it. The wonderful New Life Kids Choir (led by Amanda Ferrin) is heard prominently on this track too, with their earnest and passionate singing elevating the impacting words “Sing out / Lift your voice and cry out / Awesome is our strong God / Mighty is our God”. Another highlight is ‘Never be Shaken’, a fantastic song of personal proclamation. You can imagine children shouting out “Woah, I’ll never be shaken!" and never underestimate how declarations like this can shape their lives; when children sing lines like “I will praise You as long as I live”, let’s truly believe every heart that sings and believes this will keep serving and loving Jesus as long as they live!

Now, as well as many highlights, there are some not-so-peachy moments. Some songs don’t work so well in their new ‘kiddified’ format. ‘Light of Salvation’ has been heavily produced, and comes out seeming quite cluttered. ‘Dance Dance Shake it Up’ also succumbs to this problem, as well seeming overly wordy. And the final two tracks (‘Magnified’ and ‘Medley’) run quite long, especially if aimed at engaging children in praise and worship. You may be left thinking “could New Life have tried writing a few more songs specifically for this kids worship project?”

However, don’t underestimate the impact this album will have on children and families, who will undoubtedly love it. It’s amazing how much children, however young or old, can grasp and understand about Jesus, so I wouldn’t say that the content of any of these songs is over their head. In fact, I can imagine us as a children’s ministry in my church using a number of these songs to lead children in worship, and surely that in itself is a measure of a good album.

And, when we think of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of children impacted by the Shout Praises Kids series of worship albums, how could we not celebrate their latest release?! We can only pray that many thousands more children will be drawn closer to Jesus through these songs. And I’m sure you, and your children, will be too.

Review by Tom Hind

LTTM Rating 3.5 Out of 5 StarsWe Belong
Strong God
Never Be Shaken

Articles

Integrity Music's best-selling Shout Praises Kids series, which has sold in excess of one million units, releases 'We Belong To Jesus' featuring Jared Anderson and Friends, on 14th January 2014. The recording captures songs…